1 Kings 14 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

Around that time, Abijah son of Jeroboam got sick.

Jeroboam told his wife, "Get up and disguise yourself so nobody will recognize you as my wife. Then go to Shiloh. The prophet Ahijah is there — the one who told me I'd become king over this people."

"Take ten loaves of bread with you, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He'll tell you what's going to happen to the boy."

Jeroboam's wife did what he said. She got up, went to Shiloh, and came to Ahijah's house. Now Ahijah couldn't see — his eyes had gone dim because of his age.

But Yahweh had told Ahijah, "Jeroboam's wife is coming to ask you about her son, because he's sick. This is what you are to tell her — when she arrives, she'll be pretending to be someone else."

So when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps at the door, he said, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why are you pretending to be someone else? I've been given a hard message for you."

"Go tell Jeroboam, 'This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: I raised you up from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel.'

"'I tore the kingdom away from David's dynasty and gave it to you. But you haven't been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with his whole heart, doing only what was right in my eyes.'

"'You've done more damage than anyone before you. You went and made yourself other gods — metal idols — to provoke me. And me? You've thrown me behind your back.'

"'Because of this, I'm going to bring disaster on Jeroboam's house. I'll cut off every male in his family — whether slave or free in Israel. I'll burn up Jeroboam's house the way someone burns dung until it's completely gone.'

"'Anyone from Jeroboam's family who dies in the city, the dogs will eat. Anyone who dies in the open country, the birds will eat. Yahweh has spoken.'"

"Now get up and go home. The moment your feet enter the city, the child will die."

"All of Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He's the only one from Jeroboam's family who will get a proper burial, because he's the only one in Jeroboam's house in whom Yahweh, the God of Israel, found something good."

"Yahweh will raise up a king for himself over Israel who will cut off Jeroboam's family line. And what about right now? This is already happening."

"Yahweh will strike Israel until it sways like a reed in water. He'll uproot Israel from this good land he gave their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they made their Asherah poles, provoking Yahweh."

"He'll give up on Israel because of the failures Jeroboam committed — the ones he led Israel into."

Jeroboam's wife got up and left. She went to Tirzah, and the moment she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died.

They buried him, and all of Israel mourned for him — exactly as Yahweh had said through his servant, the prophet Ahijah.

Everything else about Jeroboam — how he waged war and how he ruled — it's all written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

Jeroboam ruled for twenty-two years. Then he died, and his son Nadab became king after him.

Now Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled seventeen years in Jerusalem — the city Yahweh had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. His mother's name was Naamah, from Ammon.

Judah did what was wrong in Yahweh's eyes. They provoked his jealousy worse than anything their ancestors had done, with the failures they committed.

They also built for themselves raised worship platforms, standing stones, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree.

There were even cult prostitutes throughout the land. The people adopted all the disgusting practices of the nations Yahweh had driven out ahead of the Israelites.

In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem.

He carried off the treasures of Yahweh's temple and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything — including all the gold shields Solomon had made.

King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and put them in the care of the commanders of the guard who protected the entrance to the royal palace.

Whenever the king went to Yahweh's temple, the guards would carry the shields, and afterward they'd return them to the guardroom.

Everything else about Rehoboam — everything he did — it's written in the official records of the kings of Judah.

There was constant war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.

Rehoboam died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His mother's name was Naamah, from Ammon. And his son Abijam became king after him.